A Closer Look: Identifying an Unsigned Painting from a Collection Label
This little gem is by far one of my favourite paintings. We purchased the unsigned painting at auction without having identified the artist, but knew it was by a well trained and accomplished artist. I love the movement and the feel of the festivity in the piece. The maiden on the right looks longingly at the dancing couple, enjoying the merriment and wishing to take part. The painting makes me feel like I am also in the room, and I too want to take part in the dancing and revelry!
(Back of painting - label detail) Benjamin I. Vauiter (Swiss 1829-1898) ‘Evening Revelry’
We often find the back of the painting can tell almost as much as the front. Luckily the piece has three labels on the back, one from the paint supplier “Hofforgylder W. J. Mogensens”, one which describes their services, and the final which reads “Pauline Hirschsprung”. Pauline and Heinrich Hirschsprung were avid collectors who gifted their collection of Danish paintings to the nation. The collection started in 1866, two years after their marriage, and included works from Golden Age painters to modern works by such famous Danish painters as P.S. Krøyer, Anna Ancher, and Vilhelm Hammershøi. The couple travelled widely, and their apartment on Bredgade in Copenhagen became a hub for art and music in their day.
With only the labels on the back of this work to go by we contacted the Hirschsprung Collection research staff who confirmed that the work was from Pauline’s private collection. They further attributed the artist to Benjamin Vautier, a Swiss artist well known for his works depicting farmers and rural life. The Hirschsprungs visited Vautier in Dusseldorf in 1878 on their way to the World Fair in Paris. Two years later, the couple arranged an exhibition in Copenhagen showing photographs after Vautier’s paintings. The Hirschsprung Collection is a must-see if you visit Copenhagen.
Benjamin I. Vautier (Swiss 1829-1898) ‘L'atelier,’ oil on canvas, signed lower right "B. Vautier 86". Size: 20 ¼ x 25 ¼ in (with frame 25 x 30 ¼ in)
The discovery of the attribution to Vautier thrilled us as we not only enjoy the artist’s work immensely, but have another painting of his in our collection. He excelled at placing his subjects in their natural space, whether a landscape, cityscape or intimate interior, and captured the essence of each individual’s distinct role, profession and character.
This painting makes me think of the Hirschsprungs hosting soirees in their apartment in Copenhagen, filled with their cherished art collected through the years. It is best described in this quote from Svend Leopold about their home:
“The home of the Hirschsprungs must surely have been the fairest in all of Copenhagen. All of the paintings now housed in Hirschsprung’s Musæum once hung there in the high-ceilinged rooms with their beautiful plasterwork, arrayed from floor to ceiling, and when the electric chandeliers were lit at night, and the house was full of guests, there was something extraordinary, even festively glittering about this rich home, which resembled no other …”
Perhaps this painting illustrates an evening spent with the Hirschsprungs, but we may never know.
About the Hirschsprungs
Pauline Hirschsprung, nee Jacobson, was an orphan from a wealthy Jewish family who married Jewish merchant Heinrich Hirschsprung. Heinrich’s father set up a tobacconist’s shop in the prestigious Hotel D’Angleterre in Copenhangen in 1826 and the company flourished after the two sons took over the business in 1859, modernizing and working out of their own factory. Pauline’s guardian refused to consent to the couple’s marriage and it was only at the outbreak of war in 1864 when the guardian (a military doctor) had to serve at the front lines, that they were able to marry.
The Hirschsprungs had five children and settled in an apartment in Bredgade in Copenhagen. They were avid collectors beginning as early as 1866 of both International and Danish art. They soon found friends among artists and other art figures, and their home became a center for the Danish art and music scene. Their collection included the top Danish artists of the day such as P.S. Krøyer, Anna Ancher, Vilhelm Hammershøi, Ejnar Nielsen and the Funen painters, but also grew to include works from the Golden Age painters such as C.W. Eckersberg and J.Th. Lundbye. They also travelled widely, collecting and visiting studios and museums throughout Europe.
The Hirschsprung collection was exhibited at the Danish Charlottenborg Exhibition of 1888 including 313 pieces of which 150 were paintings, representing around 60 Danish artists. The reviews were glowing of the collection which was representative of Danish art from the Golden Age to the present day. The couple decided to further expand the collection and began plans to donate it to the nation. The collection was exhibited at Charlottenborg for a second time in 1902, the same year the couple made their gift known publicly and began designs for a classicist building. Heinrich died in 1908, before the museum was finished and opened in 1911. The Hirschsprung state museum is still open today, and is considered one of the finest museums in Copenhagen.
- Jeanette Langmann